Life preserver jacket



March 12, 1935. F. L. BROWN H"994,189

LIFE PRESERVER JACKET Fil ed Aug. 29, 1932 fiederz'c/r [eeBrawn IN V E N TOR A TORNEVS Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES LIFE PRESERVER JACKET Frederick Lee Brown,

to The American Greenfield, Ohio, a

Greenfield, Ohio, assignor Pad & Textile Company, corporation of Ohio Application August 29, 1932, Serial No. 630,754

1 Claim. (Cl. 9-20) This invention relates to an improved form of life preserver jacket.

An object of the invention is to provide such a device adapted of itself to turn a wearer on his back in the water, without effort or action on his part, and to maintain him in this position with his head effectively supported at the sides and back.

. Another object is to provide a life saving jacket of this kind which is comfortable and safe in use. Another object is to provide such a jacket which is sturdy and yet light in weight and which is adapted for a long period of service.

Another object is to produce a life preserver of this kind which is reversible and which is very quickly and easily put on and taken off.

Another object is to provide such means adapted for eificient, low cost manufacture.

These and other objects are. attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the life preserver jacket of this invention as held in a position convenient for the putting on of the jacket.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

The life preserver is in'the form of a sleeveless jacket adapted to be fastened down the front of the wearer and having the body 5 which may be composed of two thicknesses of suitable strong wear-resistant fabric. The fabric is cut to provide arm holes 6 and 7. Along each front edge of the jacket enlarged elongated tunnels 8 and 9 are formed by stitching the fabric in spaced parallel lines 10 and 11. The tunnels are curved in their upper portions 12 and 13 and extend over the tops of the arm holes 6 and 7, constituting thus the upper parts of the arm holes. Under each arm hole the double thickness body 5 is stitched to provide the pockets 14 and 15 which aid in balancing the jacket. At the back of the neck portion of the jacket at the upper ends of tunnels 8 and 9, similar pockets 16 and 17 are made. These neck portion pockets are disposed in lateral adjacency and extend transversely of the jacket between the upper ends of tunnels 8 and 9. The tunnels and all said pockets are stuffed with buoyant soft substantially non-absorbent material 21, such as kapok, and are subsequently closed.

Suitable means are provided for holding the jacket in position on the wearer. As illustrated, these means consist of upper straps 18, intermediate straps 19 and bottom straps 20. Straps 18 are attached on or adjacent the seam or stitch line 10 on the forward part of the tunnels. The

intermediate straps 19 and bottom straps 20, in order to conform with the reversible character of the jacket, are double and extend one each around the inside and outside faces of the jacket being conveniently secured at intervals along their lengths by the stitching utilized in the body 5 of the jacket. As intimated, the jacket may be worn with either face turned outwardly. The intermediate and bottom straps on the outermost jacket face are used in fastening on the jacket, the upper straps 18 being adapted to be tied together regardless of the reversing of the jacket.

When the life preserver jacket is in position on the wearer and the straps properly secured, the stuffed tunnels 8 and 9 are held in laterally abutting relationship with one another up as far as the straps 18 where the arcuate portions 12 and 13 diverge and pass upwardly across the shoulders of the wearer adjacent his neck. At this time, the neck portion pockets 16 and 17 extend upwardly of the back of the neck of the wearer. A person wearing one of the jackets in the water is turned immediately, without action or effort on his part, on his back due to the position of the stuffed tunnels 8 and 9 by which the greatest buoyancy is placed in the front of the wearer. Hence, even though the person be unconscious, he will be turned upwardly with face above water. At this time, the head of the wearer is prevented from rolling laterally by the upper end portions of the buoyant tunnels, and from falling backwardly by the pockets 16 and 17 which serve as a brace at the back of the head.

In addition to the advantages described, the present device has great durability since all its parts are soft and free from frictional wear, being thus an advance over the older type of cork-filled jackets and the like in which the fabric body was constantly worn by the hard shifting interior materials. The comfort and lightness of the jacket herein described is likewise in contrast to the abrasive and heavy character of the older structure mentioned. Finally, the danger of serious hurt to the wearer upon leaping into the water when wearing one of the old type of cork-filled similar life preservers, has been entirely eliminated by the jacket of this invention.

What is claimed is:

A life preserver in the form of a reversible jacket openable and closable vertically of the front and characterized by a pair of soft buoyant tunnel members forming the front vertical edge portions of the jacket, said members in cross section being substantially rounded and of greatly enlarged dimensions relative to the remainder of the jacket, the upper portions of the tunnel members being curved inwardly toward the neck of the jacket and provided with fastening means whereby said upper portions, when the jacket is in position, may be drawn toward one another and secured in snug and extended engagement with the sides of the wearer's head for comfortably pillowing the head and for substantially precluding turning thereof, and apair of adjacently positioned buoyantly stufled pocket members forming the back of the neck of the jacket and meeting along a vertical line whereby a crotch is formed adapted to snugly receive the back of the wearers head and to aid in precluding turning of the head, said tunnel members being adapted to turn and retain the wearer on his back in the water.

FREDERICK LEE BROWN. 

